April 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



825 



INDIAN TEAS. 



[From " The Ai-t of Tea lileuiliug," the Melbourne eilition 

 of which has been edited by Jlr. J. Moody.] 



One of the most remarkable circumstances in connec- 

 tion with the development of the Tea Trade is the rapidity 

 of the increase in the production of luflian tea. It is 

 within the memory of many still engaged in the trade, 

 that the idea of Indian being one of the most important 

 branches of the business would simply have provoked a 

 smile, and yet, in the year 1881, there were imported 

 44,585,000 pounds of Indian tea ; and, large as this quantity 

 is, it failed to keep pace with the consumption, which 

 for the same year was 48,34^,000 pounds. This is an increase 

 of tenfolil in fifteen years, and even in weight is nearly 

 one-fourth of the entire deliveries of tea ; while, should 

 money value be taken as the test, the proportion would 

 be much larger, as the price commanded by Indian tea 

 is considerably greater than that of China. 



The taste for Indian tea is rapiiUy increasing ; here 

 and there some even prefer it by itself. Nearly all Indian 

 tea, upon its arrival in this country, is bulked — that is, 

 the whole of the chests are emptied upon one heap and 

 well mixed : this has the advantage of ensiu'ing the regularity 

 of the break, but as it allows the atmosphere to get to 

 the tea. much flavoiu* is lost, and decay hastened. This 

 loss of flavour is much greater in some varieties than in 

 others. The classes most affected are highly fired teas, 

 light flavoury teas, and those that have a bold open leaf. 

 Tile cultivation of tea is in India much more a matter 

 of science than it is in the Celestial Empire. The Chinese, 

 from time immemorial, have grown their teas on every 

 little available space — sometimes on hdlsides, sometimes 

 on patches of land comparatively barren. They have us3d 

 little or no manure ; in fact, the son has foUowed in 

 his father's steps, without attempting to e.xcel. On the 

 contrary, the growth of tlie tea industry in India has been 

 fostered by many experiments — experiments as to the climate 

 most suitable to tea-groiving. as to the soil most con- 

 genial to it, and the manure by which it is most nourished ; 

 experiments as to the best methods of manufacture, and 

 also experiments to a.scertain the best kind of plant to 

 cultivate. All these problems have been solved to a certain 

 extent. Imt there is no doubt much progress will still 

 be made. When, therefore, we con.sider the ditference 

 between a .system of cultivation so barred to progress as 

 that of the Chinese, and one so enterprising as that of 

 the English in India, we cannot wonder that while Indian 

 tea has been advancing greatly in public estimation, China 

 tea has made comparatively little progress. 



Each district extends over many miles, and comprises 

 within its limits gardens in various stages of cultivation, 

 and that the varieties of "hybrids'' between the indigenous 

 tree and the China bush exceed one hundred. There is one 

 remarkable difference between Inrhan and China teas, and 

 that is, while second, third and fom-th crop China teas 

 are different in character and respectively inferior the one 

 to the other, there is nothing in Indian tea to i)roclaim its 

 relationship to any particular crop or gathering. The number 

 of times an Inchan tree is plucked varies considerably, accord- 

 ing to the position and soil of the gardens and the state 

 of the weather. "When all things are favom-able, some trees 

 will yield as many as sixteen or seventeen ^(wA(?.v (pickings), 

 while occasionally only five or six can be obtained. — Indian 

 Tea Gazette. 



♦ 



Assam Te.\ in Natal seems to grow readily enough, but, 

 as we foimd in .Java, the bushes blossom and fruit at too 

 early a sta.ge. In Ceylon, while inferior China blossoms anil 

 fruits at a very early stage, good hybrid Assam gives very 

 little seed before the fifth year, and we know of some seven 

 anil eight years old, from which but little seed can be obtained. 

 In Natal however, according to Mr. Hulett's very interest- 

 ing account: — Dm-ing the year 1878, the plants progre.sseil 

 most satisfactorily (i. e., those that survived the drought 

 of the previous summer) and by the time tlu'y had been 

 planted one year, they were strong and vigorous. After 

 they had lieen planted 18 months, or in May, 1870, the 

 trees were large and substantial bushes. In the spring of 

 187<), or two years from planting, I took my first leaf, and 

 attempted the manufacture of the same (many of the trees 

 had, ill the May previous, blossomed). I could not tell 

 .what amount of tea I manufactured from the l,2iH1 young 



trees (many of them were quite small), but suflBcicnt for 

 my own family purpose. However, being about to visit 

 England, 1 took a few pounds with me for valuation, &c., 

 (of which more anon). During February and March, 1880,* 

 I picked my fii-st seed, and carefidly planted it ; this seed 

 produced plants which were placed" out in November and 

 December, ISSO, filling up all vacancies in the original field, 

 and making a total of about 5 acres planted to December 

 31st, 1880. At this time my original 1,21 Ki plants were three 

 years old, and giving me a good yield of leaf, whilst the 

 trees had obtained a height of, in many cases, 5 feet with 

 steins 2 inches in diameter. In February and March, 18S1, 

 I pick<:d a large quantity of seed, which I planted for my 

 own use, and from which I supjilieil the 27 .-icres planted 

 this last summer. Dmiiig the winter of 1881, or just one 

 year ago, I trieil my hand at pruning, but, being desirous 

 of obtaining a good supply of seed, I only pruneil m> out 

 of the 1,200 trees. In the spring following nastSeptcmlier;, 

 I commenced my fii'st regular picking, and up to the close 

 of the season, about 6 weeks ago, the 1,200 trees have given 

 me over 500 lb. of tea manufactm-ed, and more than half 

 a ton of seed. Had these trees all been pruned I might 

 reasonably have expected 100 lb. more, which would have 

 given a yield of 1,000 lb. to the acre, and this before the 

 plants had been out five years. As it is, my yield has been 

 at the rate of over 800 lb. to the acre. Tea is not supposed 

 to arrive at its full bearing power under eight or nine 

 years, — Indian Tea Gazette. [The yield of leaf is very large, 

 and if plants which have freely seeded at 3 years old are' 

 found to be lasting, then, certainly tea planting in Natal, 

 with the advantages of Indian labour ought to be a success. 

 Coffee proved a dead failure. — Ed.] 



♦ 



TEA A^D SILK F^iEMING IN NEW ZEALAND. 



TO THE EDITOR OF "THE COLONIES AND INDIA." 



Sir,— You were good enough on February 10 to notice 

 in yom' columns a paper on the above subject read a few 

 days previously before the Society of Arts. I'robably some 

 of your readers may not be averse to learn a httle more 

 on the same topic, seeing that your Auckland correspondent 

 of February 28, as quoted in yoiu' joiu-nal of May 12, endorses 

 the main views of the wTiter. 



.Since the former date, it is not too much to say, that not 

 only in New Zealand, but all over the sericultural districts 

 of the world, a degree of fresh and lively interest seems to 

 have been awakened in the future of silk production which 

 augurs well for that important industry, and seems to pro- 

 mise, perhaps at no very distant date, to reinstate it with 

 something of the magnitude it passessed before the climax 

 of the various sUkworm diseases in 1853. In tlie early part 

 of this year, M. Federli, an Italian expert, who had been 

 superintending various Government sUk-rearing experiments 

 at Canterbury, N. Z., forwarded a report to the Minister of 

 Lands, in which he mentioned baring inspected some silk- 

 worms reared by Blr. Nairn, of Christchureh, from a breed 

 cultivateil there for thirteen j/eai-f, ami found "no tr.ace of 

 any kind of disease." A few days later M. Federli gave his 

 views at a meeting of the Christchureh Industrial Associ- 

 ation regarding the promising prospects of sericulture in the 

 Colony, ex-jilaining that it was a mistake to suppose that 

 the industry required a large quantity of labour, a great 

 sariiig in this important item being readily effected by the 

 use of perforated paper. 



About the same period I receiveil a letter from the New 

 Zealand chief Hone Mohi Tawhai, one of the Maori represent- 

 atives in the Colonial Parliament, in which he stated his 

 gratification at the efforts being made to promote tlie 

 establishment of sericulture and some other subsidiary in- 

 du.striesin his native province of Auckland. He also referred 

 to the imiiroving habits of his countrymen, to their aptitude 

 in learning handicrafts which inti'rested tlieni. ami expre.ssiMl 

 his wish to a.ssist the pro])osed sericultural uiidtTtakmg in 

 every way. Coming from a man of mark, among his omi 

 countrymi'ii as well .as ours, am! from a member of the 

 legislative body, it will not be surprising if. under this 

 I native gentleman's influence and auspices, the labour dittic- 

 ulty may eventually be in a great measure removed. 

 ! Another en<ouraging fejiture h.as been the establishment in 

 Auckl.and, some eight or ten months ago, of the Thames 

 Sericultiu-al Association, to promote the production of silk 

 in the district. At one of the preliminary meetings, nccord- 



» 'When the plants were not quite three yearT old.— Ed. 



